Stephen Thomas

Stephen has been a dedicated student of yoga since 1998. He has practiced, taught and lived in Asia and Europe for the past decade studying various traditions, which he incorporates into a unique yoga practice influenced and made possible by the grace and support of his central teachers.
Stephen’s background includes studies in Buddhism, Ayurveda and traditional Hatha yoga in India. In Asia, he continues an in-depth study of traditional Pranayama and Kriya through his master, O.P.Tiwari, which he combines with his love for the Asana practices that stem from his experience with Krishnamacharya’s work and influence on the Ashtanga Vinyasa and Iyengar systems of yoga. He also brings in elements of the Chinese and Tibetan systems where appropriate.
Stephen is an avid reader and student of Eastern philosophies and a lifelong lover of the arts and music. His ability to re-frame various viewpoints and to simplify things without sacrificing depth and integrity has helped him develop a unique, non-dogmatic but deeply rooted teaching style. His works spans Meditation, Pranayama, Asana and the commitment to seeing the practice off the mat. He uses these methods as tools for health and wellbeing and to support the spiritual pursuit of living life courageously and compassionately from one’s heart.
Stephen teaches classes and workshops at AIRYOGA in Zurich, as well as spending a part of each year traveling as a guest instructor and teaching retreats throughout the world. He also dedicates energy each year to directing Teacher Intensive Trainings and ongoing education and works one-on-one with many students and teachers in his community. Stephen teaches in English.
To find out more please visit www.yoga-svarupa.com

December 2018

Airyoga Today

Mysore Style self-practice is the traditional, lineage based method of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga as developed by guru Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, of Mysore, South India. It is a unique and powerful way of developing a yoga practice where individual growth is valued and honoured and all students from beginners to advanced practitioners learn side by side. A qualified teacher will guide students in their practice by introducing them to sun salutations, and then building on that foundation. Postures are taught sequentially, drawing from the Ashtanga set sequences, adding on postures over time. Practice is short initially and grows in duration over time. This approach allows for individual growth where the aptitude of the student determines the rate and need for development, thereby laying a strong foundation that will be of great benefit to any serious student of Yoga. As with all undertakings, commitment often determines progress. Everyone, especially beginners, are most welcome. We look forward to meeting you in the shala.

Michael Hamilton is a dedicated student of yoga and vipassana meditation. He delights in sharing his enthusiasm for these ancient practices by teaching yoga classes, workshops, retreats and intensives upon invitation.
He was born in Cape Town, South Africa where he started studying martial arts at the age of six, leading to an interest in body practice supported by eastern philosophy and meditation. After studying art, art history, philosophy and English literature at university, his interests turned to studies in the ancient wisdom traditions of India, in particular Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta, which led to time spent in India and North America immersed in Yoga, Zen meditation and darshans with Advaita teachers.
He received permission to teach Ashtanga yoga from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois of Mysore India, and currently studies yoga with Richard Freeman and Doug Keller.
After the passing of his Zen teacher Daido Loori Roshi, vipassana meditation in the lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw became his focus. Currently meditation studies and deep contemplative practice forms the foundation of his teachings on yoga and its integration into our daily lives. With an eye for detail and alignment he conducts workshops internationally emphasizing the internal practice of yoga through mindfulness. Michael teaches in English.
For more information please see www.michaelhamiltonyoga.com

This class moves fluid and continuous through different yoga postures (asanas). An invigorating dance like yoga lesson. The classes are flowing at a moderate pace guided by detailed instruction. The postures are kept save and simple, focus on building strength, endurance and flexibility. Basic yoga experience is recommended.

After completing his studies in Environmental Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Adrian lived for one year in Vancouver, Canada. It was there he was first introduced to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Vipassana Meditation in 2002. In the following years Adrian's Yoga practice consisted in the regular practice of the Primary Series. Due to deep experiences with Vipassana meditation and with teacher plants, spirituality and self-transformation began to take a more important role in Adrian's life. This led him to travel to India, where he spent one year teaching Tibetan monks chemistry and biology, practicing asana on the roof of the Buddhist monastery, and diving deeper into eastern spiritual teachings. Currently his main focus is with Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Meditation. Adrian completed his yoga teacher training with Remo Rittiner in Zurich. Adrian's classes follow the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya, and are tailored to the student's needs. Dynamic Vinyasa Flow yoga, as well as gentle Ayur Yoga, fit perfectly well into his teaching repertoire. He is using elements like chanting, Yoga-Nidra or simple visualisations in his classes. With his scientific background, he understands well to build bridges between the old yogic wisdom and our modern worldview. Adrian teaches in German and English. He lives with his wife and son in Zurich. For more information please see www.oshadi-yoga.ch

This class is recommended for mothers from 6 to 8 weeks after birthing. Their babies are also welcome.
In this class the women concentrate on good posture with particular focus on the pelvic floor, the abdominal muscles and the spine. In a group class format we will work on bringing awareness to, gently stretching, and strengthening these parts of the body. Physical and mental well-being after birthing will be promoted, and muscle tone, stability and physical strength systematically reestablished. Questions and individual requests will be addressed. Post-natal yoga should be practiced regularly for a duration of at least 8 weeks after giving birth. Yoga experience is not required.

During one of her journeys to the Far East in 1999, Tanja discovered and learned to appreciate Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Yoga has led her to find answers to the many questions she has encountered on her personal life journey - answers that lay hidden deep within herself. Tanja attended the Yoga Teacher Training in 2004 at Centered Yoga in Asia, where she received certification as a Yoga instructor recognized by the Yoga Alliance. After her pregnancy in 2008, she also attended the Perinatal Yoga Training at Birthlight UK. After that time, life guided her more and more towards silence, and silence moved her from Yoga to Meditation.
The loving and conscious contact with, and careful perception of, one's own body are the focus of Tanja's classes, as well as the connection of breath and movement. Since 2017, Tanja has been attending continuing education courses on mindfulness meditation and resilience building. In addition, she completed the Hormone Balance Teacher Training with Salome Noah. To deepen her own practice on the mat, Tanja regularly attends retreats and trainings with internationally recognized teachers. Her spiritual practice is deepened through the challenges of everyday life and especially through stays in an ashram in northern India.
Tanja teaches in German and English.
For more information please visit her website www.yogatanja.com

This Vinyasa Flow class builds strength, balance and flexibility. The class is taught with simple postures, works for all levels and is suitable for anyone looking for a midday workout with all the benefits of Yoga. All students with basic yoga experience are welcome.

After completing his studies in Environmental Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Adrian lived for one year in Vancouver, Canada. It was there he was first introduced to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Vipassana Meditation in 2002. In the following years Adrian's Yoga practice consisted in the regular practice of the Primary Series. Due to deep experiences with Vipassana meditation and with teacher plants, spirituality and self-transformation began to take a more important role in Adrian's life. This led him to travel to India, where he spent one year teaching Tibetan monks chemistry and biology, practicing asana on the roof of the Buddhist monastery, and diving deeper into eastern spiritual teachings. Currently his main focus is with Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Meditation. Adrian completed his yoga teacher training with Remo Rittiner in Zurich. Adrian's classes follow the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya, and are tailored to the student's needs. Dynamic Vinyasa Flow yoga, as well as gentle Ayur Yoga, fit perfectly well into his teaching repertoire. He is using elements like chanting, Yoga-Nidra or simple visualisations in his classes. With his scientific background, he understands well to build bridges between the old yogic wisdom and our modern worldview. Adrian teaches in German and English. He lives with his wife and son in Zurich. For more information please see www.oshadi-yoga.ch

Yoga is a beautiful companion during pregnancy and helps to face the natural changes of the body with joy, confidence and self-assurance. The exercises are especially selected and modified for pregnant women. They particularly strengthen the back, they support the pregnancy and prepare for the birth. Correct and conscious breathing promotes concentration and refines the inner perception. Prenatal Yoga is suitable for women with or without yoga experience in each stage of the pregnancy.

During one of her journeys to the Far East in 1999, Tanja discovered and learned to appreciate Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Yoga has led her to find answers to the many questions she has encountered on her personal life journey - answers that lay hidden deep within herself. Tanja attended the Yoga Teacher Training in 2004 at Centered Yoga in Asia, where she received certification as a Yoga instructor recognized by the Yoga Alliance. After her pregnancy in 2008, she also attended the Perinatal Yoga Training at Birthlight UK. After that time, life guided her more and more towards silence, and silence moved her from Yoga to Meditation.
The loving and conscious contact with, and careful perception of, one's own body are the focus of Tanja's classes, as well as the connection of breath and movement. Since 2017, Tanja has been attending continuing education courses on mindfulness meditation and resilience building. In addition, she completed the Hormone Balance Teacher Training with Salome Noah. To deepen her own practice on the mat, Tanja regularly attends retreats and trainings with internationally recognized teachers. Her spiritual practice is deepened through the challenges of everyday life and especially through stays in an ashram in northern India.
Tanja teaches in German and English.
For more information please visit her website www.yogatanja.com

Yoga is a beautiful companion during pregnancy and helps to face the natural changes of the body with joy, confidence and self-assurance. The exercises are especially selected and modified for pregnant women. They particularly strengthen the back, they support the pregnancy and prepare for the birth. Correct and conscious breathing promotes concentration and refines the inner perception. Prenatal Yoga is suitable for women with or without yoga experience in each stage of the pregnancy.

In this class we learn the basics of Vinyasa Yoga: different breathing techniques (Pranayama), Sun Salutations, classic postures and the union of breath and movement. The asanas are taught according to the level of the students and their individual needs with the teacher demonstrating the asanas for a clear understanding. The Yoga we practice in this class can be both calm and challenging; we practice with attention to learn the asanas properly and correctly. Yoga Basics is for anyone new to yoga. This class is specially designed for beginners but also serves as a powerful refresher for ongoing students who like to revisit specific aspects of their practice. Anyone can start anytime without prior reservation.

Kimi completed a four-year dance training at the Zurich Dance Theater School with a subsequent specialization of Musical Studies in Hamburg. In the meantime she has been performing on stage as a career dancer and choreographer for more than 15 years. 10 years ago Kimi came across yoga while searching for a supplement to her daily dance training. She quickly came to realize that Yoga is not just about physical postures on the mat, but also challenges and aids the entire body and mind. Through regular practice she found a balance to her fast-paced career.
In 2007 Kimi successfully completed the Yoga Alliance 200-hour Teacher Training and in 2013 the 300-hour Advanced Teacher Training at AIRYOGA. These were followed by three Anusara Immersions, a Teacher Training by Katchie Ananda, a module with Shiva Rea and the intensive teacher training with Max Strom. By attending workshops in Switzerland and Germany, she became acquainted with different styles of yoga. Kimi teaches in a dynamic style, which embraces aspects of Vinyasa Yoga. Alongside the wisdom and teachings of Yoga for health, healing and bodily well-being, is the emphasis of a conscious and deep breath. Kimi teaches in German and English by request.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is a flowing, dynamic form of yoga which focuses on building inner heat. The flowing movements lead to an increase in strength, flexibility and energy. Through the synchronization of breath and movement and the repetitive sequence of asanas (yoga postures), the practitioner is able to experience a state of meditation and calm while developing a self practice.

Ashtanga "Half Primary" – Primary Series through Navasana (90 min.)
This class is a guided class of the first half of the primary series of Ashtanga yoga. The pace is somewhat slower than in the full primary. It is suitable for practitioners that would like to spend more time in the postures and learn more detail as more information accompanies the postures by way of verbal adjustments.

Conscious breathing, observing the mind, while practicing and deepening the classical asanas and sun salutations - these are the elements that let us experience yoga. Practice mindfulness for 60 or 90 minutes, without expectations and without ambitions.

Since early childhood, spirituality, communication and a connection to nature and people have been central elements of Andy's life. Mystical teachings, ancient Vedic wisdom, Tantra, Zen, yoga, meditation and mindfulness make up Andy's center of inspiration and power. Following his travels through Thailand, Tibet and Japan, Andy received the Bodhisattva ordination of the ZEN Dojo Zürich.
Andy has been employed in corporate communication for the past 20 years, with his last position as a member of the board of directors of a big media agency in Zurich. Meditation, yoga, nutrition, healing and being human became more important in his life, so that today yoga is his area of focus.
Andy is registered as a RYT-500 yoga teacher for Hatha Yoga with Stephen Thomas, Embodied Flow TM with Tara Judelle and Scott Lyons, for Prenatal Yoga with Sue Elkind, and as Embodied Flow Somatic Movement Tharapist in training with Myra Avedon and Scott Lyons.
Andy integrates asana, pranayama and meditation is his daily life to strenghten his body, calm his mind and to find space within himself where everything exists and where everything is possible. In his classes, Andy seeks to unleash each of his student's individual potential and bring this to the foreground. To be three-dimensional, to be space, to be in contact and in dialogue with everything, what unfolds itself as life, is for Andy the beauty that shines within each individual person. He views his work as a Yoga Facilitator to give life to this space within. Where each person can enjoy being his or her own self.
Andy also teaches private lessons and offers Embodied Flow Movement Therapy. He teaches in English and German. For more information please visit his website www.yogandy.net

This Vinyasa Flow class builds strength, balance and flexibility. The class is taught with simple postures, works for all levels and is suitable for anyone looking for a midday workout with all the benefits of Yoga. All students with basic yoga experience are welcome.

Since her first encounter with Yoga in 1995, Gisela has practiced and studied with many amazing and gifted teachers. She has delved into Kundalini Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga Vinyasa in Mysore, Anusara, Classical Hatha Yoga and Birthlight Pre + Postnatal and Well Woman Yoga. She has completed over 500-hours Yoga Alliance accredited training and many further education courses. She is a Training Tutor for Birthlight and leads international trainings in Perinatal Yoga.
Gisela has been teaching since 2004. By guiding her students through the physical form and focusing on the breath, she invites them to make their own inner explorations and discover the qualities of joy and gratitude that lie within themselves. Students appreciate her calm and positive manner, her precise and detailed instructions, and the mix of power and restoration that they take away from her classes.
Gisela's work in Birthlight Yoga has enriched her practice and teaching immensely. By freeing up the rigid physical form of asana to tune into the body's rhythms and seasons, we develop a deep awareness and confidence in our own intuitive wisdom. We promote trust, faith and acceptance for what is, and make space for what is to come. We foster self-nurture and gentleness towards ourselves, which we can then spread to those around us.
Gisela teaches her classes in English. For more information visit her website www.yogaprema.ch

Mysore Style self-practice is the traditional, lineage based method of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga as developed by guru Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, of Mysore, South India. It is a unique and powerful way of developing a yoga practice where individual growth is valued and honoured and all students from beginners to advanced practitioners learn side by side. A qualified teacher will guide students in their practice by introducing them to sun salutations, and then building on that foundation. Postures are taught sequentially, drawing from the Ashtanga set sequences, adding on postures over time. Practice is short initially and grows in duration over time. This approach allows for individual growth where the aptitude of the student determines the rate and need for development, thereby laying a strong foundation that will be of great benefit to any serious student of Yoga. As with all undertakings, commitment often determines progress. Everyone, especially beginners, are most welcome. We look forward to meeting you in the shala.

As a student of both psychology and yoga, Miriam is fascinated by the interplay of body and mind and of conscious and unconscious aspects of awareness. Through Yoga and Meditation, she finds spaces leading to the gift of insight, the healing of mental wounds and the refinement of conscious perception.
She has learned the Ashtanga Practice from her primary teachers Michael Hamilton and Eddie Stern. Their firm, yet very gentle way of being continues to inspire her. For Miriam, Yoga means to reunite oppositions and to be more present with the unfolding of inner experience. She teaches in German and English.

Conscious breathing, observing the mind, while practicing and deepening the classical asanas and sun salutations - these are the elements that let us experience yoga. Practice mindfulness for 60 or 90 minutes, without expectations and without ambitions.

After attending her first yoga class in 2004, Sarah's curiosity for yoga developed into a real passion. Sarah was fascinated by the deep union of precise bodywork and spirituality. Yoga has guided her through many challenging phases in life, helping her to find her grounding and boosting her self-confidence.
Sarah completed her Yoga Teacher Trainings (Yoga Alliance) at AIRYOGA in Zurich: In 2012 a 200-hour, and in 2015 a 300-hour Advanced Training with Stephen Thomas. She continues deepening her knowledge in workshops with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Rachel Zinman, Marc Holzmann, Yogeswari, Mark Stephens, and others. Sarah is also currently attending a teacher module at the Swiss ‚Yoga Studium‘ with Johannes Glarner.
Sarah emphasizes practicing mindfully and listening to the body's intuitive feedback. In her classes she always refers back to an awareness of the breath. Yoga shall not merely ground and strengthen us, but support us to find a peaceful path to our inner essence. She shares her philosophical understanding of yoga with her students, inviting them to lead their awareness from the mind into the space of the heart and to reside in that space. Sarah teaches her classes in German and English.
Please find more information under https://sarahmai.yoga

During these 90 minutes we let go of space and time and dive into mindfulness and effort. We begin by flowing through some sun salutations, after which we will deepen and explore a wide range of classical asanas, carried by the flow of our breath. We will ease toward the end of the class by practicing some excercises to regulate our breath (pranayama) and then allow ourselves to witness our own mental and physical relaxation in savasana (deep relaxation). Basic Yoga experience is required.

Diana encountered Yoga 30 years ago. Being fascinated by the profoundness and multi-dimensionality of this method again and again, she began to teach 20 years later sharing her passion as an international (Yoga Alliance registered) E-RYT500 in regular classes, workshops, retreats and teacher trainings.
As an artist, Diana embodies Yoga as a highly creative process, that wants to be explored and transitioned into ones life in all its facettes. Her experiences with the transformational potential of fine arts and especially performance art, of body-mind methods, contemporary schamanism, vipassana meditation and ayurveda are reflected in her teaching style. Trained in traditional Hatha and in Anusara Yoga, her deepest wish is to support people to connect with their inner essence and to open up new perspectives and spaces from there. Next to precise alignment in the Asana and Pranayama practice, she is guiding her students into meditation and deep relaxation, as well as towards the power of Mantra.
India became a second home for Diana since she dedicated her studies for an extended period of time in Yoga ashrams and Buddhist monasteries in the early nintees. In her annual retreats and Yoga journeys, she opens up inspiring insights into inner and outer worlds with deepest respect and love for Yoga and its country of origin.
Amongst Diana’s most important influences are her longterm mentor Emahó, Sri Mansoor, Surinder Singh and Stephen Thomas with whom she completed the Advanced Teacher Training and is working closely together. Currently, she immerses herself into the study of Sanskrit, Mantra, writing and into her Devadi Design line, offering Ayurvedic treatments and Yoga- and meditation sessions on personal topics, as well as online courses and trainings. Diana teaches in German and English.
For more informationen please check out www.dianaschoepplein.com